In-Kyung Kim made the move of the week in the Rolex Rankings after a final round 63 saw the Republic of Korea golfer win the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I. This win moves Kim from 28th in the rankings up to 20th position.
“This one is very special because after the U.S. Open, I feel like I prepared very well during the last two majors, and I wasn't as successful as I expected, which maybe that's why I didn't play as well,” Kim said. “But this week I wanted to play my best game, and just coming over here, it feels really good.”
This win also sees Kim join world No. 1 So Yeon Ryu as the only other multiple winner on the LPGA Tour in 2017, having previously won the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer in June. Fellow Korean Inbee Park also moved inside the top-10, despite not hitting a ball.
Solheim Cup
Lexi Thompson remains in the number-one spot in the Team USA Solheim Cup points standings after finishing second for a fifth time this season. A strong week for Gerina Piller also saw her hold on to the number three spot.
Both Brittany Lincicome and Angela Stanford moved closer to the final automatic spot with top-8 finishes at the Marathon Classic. Lincicome currently qualifies via the Rolex Rankings but Stanford will need to pick up more top 10s – on top of the three she already has this season – if she is to feature for a seventh time at the Solheim Cup.
In the battle for Juli Inkster’s wildcard choices, Nelly Korda and Kim Kaufman put in respectable performances that won’t go unnoticed. Korda led the tournament after three-rounds but fell back into a tie for eighth place after a three-over-par, 74. Kaufman was 11-under-par for the weekend and has wrestled her way into the pack chasing a wildcard selection. Her scintillating play on the weekend saw the American finish in a tie for sixth.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen made her case to become the first ever Epson Tour member to compete in a Solheim Cup after a record-breaking week at the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic. Madsen smashed the four-round total record on the Epson Tour when she finished at 22-under-par to win the tournament by seven strokes and become a three-time winner on the Epson Tour.
Although a member of the Ladies European Tour, Madsen is only set to make her 4th start on the tour in 2017 at this week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open, alongside other European Solheim hopefuls.
Jodi Ewart-Shadoff is the highest ranked player yet to automatically qualify for Annika Sorenstram’s European side, and will be looking to showcase her skills in Scotland this week. As will Emily Pedersen, Madelene Sagstrom, Caroline Masson, Catriona Matthews, Caroline Hedwall, Klara Spilkova and Becky Morgan.
For complete USA Rankings>> and Europe Rankings>>
Race to CME Globe
Lexi Thompson overtook So Yeon Ryu for the top spot in the Race to the CME Globe standings, with 2,554 points, following her runner-up finish at the Marathon Classic. Tournament winner Kim moved an impressive 18 places from 34th position to 16th.
Thompson’s lead is only 50 points over the world No. 1 Ryu, with Ariya Jutanugarn (3), Sung Hyun Park (4), Brooke Henderson (5), In Gee Chun (6), Sei Young Kim (7), Amy Yang (8), Cristie Kerr (9) and Moriya Jutanugarn (10) rounding out the top 10.
)
)
)
)
